"Aftermarket Coolers"

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fsi16v

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Nov 14, 2007
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So I have been somewhat of a computer nerd for a while now, but never too crazy into overclocking or anything. I have built gaming systems, but never oc'd. When someone says "aftermarket cooler" is this just a heatsink/fan/thermal paste combo that works better than the OEM heatsink/fan/paste combo? Do these void warranties on the cards?

I am going to be running 2 8800 gt's and not sure if they are gonna be getting really hot, so I figured I would look into this. I am getting two of these http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150254 and basically I am wondering if I should look into some kind of aftermarket cooling solution or will i be okay with just a good flowing case? Not interested in any water cooling atm.
 
As far as I know, XFX and EVGA are the only ones that allow you to put on an aftermarket cooler without voiding their warranty. And yep, it is a combination of heatsink/fan/thermal compound. There are different combinations so shop around, you'll want to get one that includes ramsinks and if needed mosfet sinks (8800GT mosfets are somewhat cooled by the stock sink/fan) tho there is currently debate on wether the mosfet sinks are needed.

With a pair of 8800 GT's yeah, their gonna run a bit hot, it's basicly up to you if you want to go to aftermarket cooling, after seeing some of the temps quoted here upwards of 90C+ with the single slot stock coolers, I myself wouldn't hesitate to put new coolers on those cards, just be aware that most aftermarket coolers usually take up 2 slots so you will loose some pci or pcie slots right next to the vid cards.

Just an example of good hsf combo that includes ramsinks, http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835118001 note that due to how new the 8800 GT is, there are no hsf combo's that specifcly state they are compatible with the 8800 GT tho quite a few people here have already replaced the stock cooling on their cards. See this thread, http://www.hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1235965 :)
 
Good news about keeping my warranty with my XFX card!

I have been lucky so far with my single card, I have not seen it get above 65 degrees C, but then again I have only played NFS: Pro Street and Insurgence mod for HL2 (both with settings all the way up, including AA). This is with the fan set to 60%. I think my case flows really well too, which helps. I guess I will just wait and see how both cards will do at 60%, 80%, and then decide if I should go aftermarket or not.

What can I use to stress these so that they will get hot? Will 3dmark stress them to where I will see them hit their most likely max temp?
 
If you start overclocking these cards, they can get quite hot, though I'm honestly not sure whether the limit on my 8800GT is due to heat or a lack of voltage. 3dmark06 gets it hotter than anything I'm found game-wise (admittedly just the orange box games, hellgate: london, and oblivion, thus far).
 
I don't really plan on overclocking at least not yet.. I have one of the factory OC ones from XFX, and will have another on friday. I figure if I have two of them I should be good to go for at least a little while. If I decide to OC further then I will definately look into aftermarket cooling solutions
 
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